Download WHAP Teacher Copy New Philosophies in China

New Philosophies in China
WHAP/Napp
Objective: To identify significant beliefs of Legalism,
Confucianism, and Daoism and to compare and contrast
these philosophies
Do Now: Why did the Age of Warring States, a time of
disorder, increase philosophical introspection?
____________________________________________________
Cues:
Notes:
I. The Centuries Surrounding 500 B.C.E.
A. New cultural traditions emerged that spread widely
B. Occurring somewhat simultaneously-China, India, Middle East, and Greece
C. Growing cities, increasing trade, new states, and new contacts, more deadly
warfare  thinkers question older perspectives and develop new answers
II. Disorder during the Zhou dynasty
A. By the time of Zhou dynasty took power in 1122 BCE, the Mandate of
Heaven was an accepted Chinese belief
B. But by 500 BCE, the age of warring states (403-221 BCE) had begun
C. Disorder led thinkers to develop new ideas
III. Legalism
A. Believed that the solution to China’s problems lay in laws
1. A system of rewards and strict punishments
2. A pessimistic view of human nature
a) People were selfish and shortsighted
b) Only the state and rulers could act in long-term interests of society
B. Promoted farmers and soldiers
1. Believed these classes performed essential functions
2. Regarded other classes as useless
IV. The Qin Dynasty
A. The dominant philosophy of the Qin dynasty (221 – 206 BCE) was Legalism
1. But the brutality of the dynasty discredited Legalism
2. No ruler afterwards openly supported it
3. But it, nonetheless, played a role in future dynasties
4. Even while the Han and subsequent dynasties officially endorsed
Confucianism
V. Confucius
A. Confucius (551 – 479 BCE) was the most influential philosopher of China’s
dynastic period
B. Sought a political position but did not find one
C. Spent his time as a thinker and teacher
D. Students collected his teachings in a book called the Analects
E. Not based on rewards and punishments but on moral examples
F. Ideas
1. Human society consisted of unequal relationships
Summaries:
Cues:
Notes:
1. To maintain order and thus social harmony, inferiors obey superiors
2. Superiors had to protect and provide for inferiors and set good examples
3. A superior acting with benevolence and genuine concern would motivate
inferiors to respond with obedience
4. Proper behavior would lead to harmony and stability
5. Confucius emphasized education as the key to moral betterment
G. The Han dynasty encouraged Confucianism
1. The examination system was established in which candidates for
government service had to pass a rigorous examination
a) A civil service based on competence
2. The family was the model for political life
3. Filial piety or the honoring of one’s ancestors and parents
H. The family was a training ground for the reverence due to the emperor and
state officials
I. Women were also affected by their status as permanent inferiors
1. Trained to serve their husbands
J. Placed great importance on history for the ideal society lay in the past
1. Although Confucius was a reformer, his ideas were presented as an
effort to restore a past golden age
2. But opened the possibility of government service to all men by
emphasizing intellectual achievement and the examination system
K. Justified inequalities but established certain expectations for government
L. A failing emperor could forfeit the Mandate of Heaven and could be
replaced by another dynasty
M. Confucianism also marked elite Chinese culture by its secular or
nonreligious character
VI. Daoism
A. Daoism is often associated with Laozi
B. According to tradition, Laozi was a sixth-century BCE archivist
C. Credited with writing the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching)
D. Afterwards, it was rumored Laozi abandoned civilization to live in nature
E. Daoist ideas were later-expressed in a more explicit fashion by the
philosopher Zhuangzi (369-286 BCE)
F. Ideas
1. Radically different from Confucianism
2. Viewed education and moral striving as useless
3. In the face of disorder and chaoswithdrawal into the world of nature
4. Encouraged behavior that was spontaneous, individualistic, and natural
5. The central concept of Daoism is the Dao (translated as the way)
6. It is often said that the Dao is beyond words
7. Encouraged people to live in nature and to live naturally
A. But despite differences, Daoism was regarded as complementing
Confucianism
B. This attitude encouraged by the ancient Chinese concept of yin and yang
Summaries:
Strayer Question:
 What different answers to the problem of disorder arose in classical China?

Why has Confucianism been defined as a "humanistic philosophy" rather than a
supernatural religion?

How did the Daoist outlook differ from that of Confucianism?
1. Daoism and Confucianism
(A) Agreed on the importance of
education.
(B) Disagreed on the need for personal
reflection.
(C) Taught that active political
involvement was essential to stable
society.
(D) Agreed on how to address the
turmoil after the fall of the Zhou
dynasty.
(E) Based their teachings on Chinese
traditions.
2. Which of the following qualifies as an
example of Confucius’ “Five Basic
Relationships”?
(A) Ruler-subject
(B) Father-son
(C) Friend-friend
(D) Husband-wife
(E) All of the above
3. Which of the following choices
contains belief systems that
originated in China?
I.
Confucianism
II.
Legalism
III.
Daoism
IV.
Buddhism
(A) I, II, and IV
(B) I and II
(C) II and III
(D) I, II, III, and IV
(E) I, II, and III
4. In Chinese tradition, the Mandate of
Heaven refers to
(A) Chinese ethnocentric tendencies
(B) Eternal authority of a ruling
dynasty
(C) Divine blessing of the rule of an
emperor
(D) Belief in many gods
(E) The goal of Buddhist meditation
5. In which of the following periods of
Chinese history did Confucius live?
(A) Qin dynasty
(B) Late Zhou dynasty “Era of
Warring States”
(C) Han dynasty
(D) Sui dynasty
(E) Shang dynasty
6. Daoist thought tends to emphasize
(A) Respect for the emperor
(B) Harmony with nature
(C) Authority of the father
(D) The struggle of the poor for
justice
(E) Punishment of sin
7. Daoist conceptions of nature
emphasized
(A) A single omnipresent God
(B) Understanding through science
(C) Harmony and balance
(D) Numerous minor gods that
intervened in human affairs
(E) Present of fallen human souls in
the bodies of animals
Excerpts from wsu.edu
Confucius laid down a pattern of thinking followed by more people for more generations
than any other human being on the face of the earth. No matter what religion, no matter
what form of government, the Chinese (and most other East Asian civilizations) and their
way of thinking can in some way be shown to have Confucian elements about them. But
Confucius was no religious leader nor did he claim any special divine status (nor was any
divine status claimed for him). He was, in fact, a relatively ordinary person; his family was
from the lesser aristocracy that had fallen on extremely hard times when he was born in
551 B.C. in the province of Lu. He was born into the family of K'ung and was given the
name Ch'iu; in later life he was called "Master Kung": K'ung Fu-tzu, from which the
Latin form, Confucius, is derived. He began a startlingly successful early political career as
a young man, rising quickly in the administrative ranks, but fell out of favor fast. Although
his intense personal goal was to restore peace and orderliness to the province, he found
himself dismissed from government early on. He never returned to public life. Instead he
turned to teaching, hoping that he could change the world by changing its leaders at a
young age. We have many accounts of his teaching and all his students praise his natural
talent for brilliant teaching. These students recorded these teachings and this is what comes
down to us as the Analects. The Confucian method characterizes just about all Chinese
learning down to the present day; its fundamental tenet is the unwavering belief in the
perfectibility of human beings through learning.
Confucius had one overwhelming message: if we are to achieve a state of orderliness and
peace, we need to return to traditional values of virtue. These values are based entirely on
one concept: jen, which is best translated as "humaneness," but can also mean
"humanity," "benevolence," "goodness," or "virtue." This humaneness is a relatively
strange concept to Western eyes, because it is not primarily a practicable virtue. Rather,
the job of the "gentleman," ch'ün tzu, was to concentrate on the highest concepts of
behavior even when this is impractical or foolish. Like his contemporaries, Confucius
believed that the human order in some way reflected the divine order, or the patterns of
heaven. More than anything, according to Confucius, the ancients understood the order
and hierarchy of heaven and earth; as a result, Confucius established the Chinese past as
an infallible model for the present.
What is incumbent on individual people is to determine the right pattern to live and
govern by; this can be achieved by studying the sage-kings and their mode of life and
government and by following rituals scrupulously, for the pattern of heaven is most
explicitly inscribed on the various rituals, li , prescribed for the conduct of everyday life.
Neglecting ritual, or doing rituals incorrectly, demonstrated a moral anarchy or disorder of
the most egregious kind. These heavenly patterns were also inscribed in the patterns of
music and dance, yüeh, so that order in this life could be attained by understanding and
practicing the order of traditional and solemn music and dance…
Men's natures are alike, it is their habits that carry them far apart.
~Confucius